I remember my 3rd attack like it was yesterday. I had just finished catering an event in a house that had no air conditioning. I think the temperature was about 95 degrees inside that house. It was a very intense day. I was exhausted when I came home. I slept a lot the next 3 days because of the heat. Then I had another cooking event the following weekend and this time I think this triggered the MS attack. I came home and my feet was ice cold. I just could not warm my feet up. I wore socks, slippers, wrapped my feet in blankets, just could not get my feet warm. 

I went to work the next day and just felt so tired. I was just exhausted, my body hurt, the pins and needles came back and my feet were so cold. Later that afternoon I tried to  hold a pen in my right hand to write and felt this horrible pain go up my arm into my neck and up into my brain like a cramp and electric bolt shooting through my veins. I could not even hold a pen to sign my  name. I went home early and made an appointment with my doctor. I was not able to get in to see him for a couple of days so I called in sick because I could not control my right foot to press on the gas and brake. I felt it was too dangerous to drive and my sister worked on the other side of town and could not drive me. My mom was not allowed to drive because she had a tumor that was wrapped around her carotid artery and her doctor forbade her to drive.

The symptoms got worse. My right leg was almost useless. I had to pull my leg up with my left hand to get up the stairs into the house. I could not even brush my teeth – can you imagine. My mom and sister went out and got me an electric toothbrush so I could manage to brush my teeth using my left hand. I had difficulties with personal hygiene and had to ask my sister to blow dry my hair for me. I felt so useless – it was awful. My poor mom – she had a hard time seeing because the tumor was pressing on her left eye, she struggled to make me a sandwich.

When it was time to go to the doctor, no one was available to drive me to the doctor, I think my sister had computer problems at work and could not take me, friends had plans, so I told my mom she needed to come with me. What a pair we made — I laugh about it now but I did not laugh about it then.

My mom had to drive me, I could not control my right leg and foot. She had a patch on her left eye so it made it difficult for her to drive. We had to drive like 35 – 40 miles an hour all the way to the doctor’s office. Took the back roads so we would not have problems driving. My mom was weaving one way to the other, I had to like hold the steering wheel so that we would not drive off the road. When we got to the doctor’s office, we had to lean on each other to get to the building. What a pair we made. She was leaning on me to see and walk, I was leaning on her because I had no movement in my right leg. I think people were staring at us when we walked into the doctor’s office. What a sight!

My neurologist saw me and said I was having an attack, naturally! He said it would last about 3 weeks and I should start feeling better. Gave me a prescription for Predisone and Zantac. After 3 days of taking the meds I started to feel like my self again. This was September 2002. My neurologist told me that I needed to start taking Avonex injections for my MS. I dreaded this day. He told me I had to, I had no choice. I am sure I had other choices but I was feeling so sick who was I to argue with the doctor.

After this attack, the left side of my body is always cold. It feels like I have ice water running in my veins.  My butt feels like I am sitting on bags of ice. During the winter time it is worse. I manage to get by. I think positive — I’m alive, I’m walking, I don’t need anyone to help me – that is all that matters at this point.